Abelle- A Chinese Romance

Escape in Taiwan (Part 7)

I never thought that I would come back to my apartment here in Beijing. Liu and I burst into my bedroom. While I rummaged in my wardrobe to find my travel suitcase, Liu went through my drawers taking out clothes for me to wear. "Here, get changed. Take off that qipao." I heave my suitcase onto my bed, then gathered the clothes that Liu gave me and dashed into the bathroom. While unzipping myself, I hear Liu throw my garments of clothes into the suitcase. When I came back out (dressed in a cotton-sleeved shirt and a cargo skirt) I saw my suitcase already packed up to the max with clothes, socks, and extra stuff like a comb, towel, my toothbrush, a small mirror, and a box of mints. "It's time to go." Liu says in a huff as she lifts the suitcase off of my bed and gives it for me to carry. We locked the apartment door and hid the key under the doormat. In the elevator, Liu asks, "So what happened in the suite?" I shake my head. "Come on, tell me Abelle!" I bitterly described the whole scene to her. Liu gasped. "He thought that James stole you away?" I shrugged.

"It is kind of strange that James is engaged to Chelsie....if Jack didn't love her wouldn't he stop her from marrying his cousin? He did tell me that Chelsie cheated off of him,..maybe he's afraid that she'll cheat off of James." Liu throws back her head and laughs. "Yeah like she'll dump James for someone who is more good-looking, more richer, more kinder...oh wait there is no other person like that. It has to be him." The elevator doors open and we quickly ran outside to Shu who holds out his hands to take my suitcase. "So she's dating James to get revenge at Jack?" I say in surprise as I get into the passenger seat of the SUV. This time Liu sits beside me in the back. "Could be. But you can't be too sure. Like you said to Jack, have you ever seen them make out in public?" I hear Shu slam the trunk in the back and walk over to the driver's side to get in. "No. Kisses on the cheek are common. I doubt that they will actually marry though...it's an arranged marriage. James has been engaged before to several other women, why would this particular one work out?" Liu says something that gives me a shudder. "You never know."

I watch as the worker men take our luggage into the plane. Behind me I hear Liu and Shu speaking quietly in low voices, but I can hear their words clear enough. "Shu, make sure that Abelle doesn't go out in public alot. People will recognize her easily. Also, have a safe trip." Out of the corner of my eye I see Shu kiss Liu on the mouth. "Sure Liu. I'll protect her from the public eye the best I can. But you do realize that Abelle can't stay in Taiwan forever. I have to come back to China in 4 more days." Liu frowns at him. "Of course I know that. Besides I'm pretty sure every reporter in China will cover the latest gossip on Abelle and Jack's reception! If her parents ask for her, I'll say I'm not sure. If "Vogue China" asks for her, I'll say the same answer. The most important thing, is to bring James to Taiwan so the two can meet." I feel my cheeks grow hot hearing James mentioned in this whole plan. I still have to face him either sooner or later. Shu nods his head. "Okay then. Well I'll probably call you when we land. Bye Liu, play it safe with the media." Liu smiles as Shu leans in for another smooch. I envy them...if only my love with James could be like that. After they finish their "five minute" smooch, Liu comes up to me and whispers in my ear, "Be good with Shu. No one should know where you are." I give Liu one last hug and then watch her leave the runway.

"The flight should be smooth tonight Abelle. I didn't hear anything about bad weather." We enter the jet up a ramp. Once inside, I saw how nice it was. White leather seats that faced each other near the windows and a clear glass dining table. I sat down in a seat across from Shu. "We're not the only ones boarding," Shu says. "What?" Shu chuckles. "You thought I could get a fancy private first-class jet to fly us over an ocean, just the two of us? More journalists will come aboard....put your head down on the table and pretend to sleep." I do what he says just as 6 more journalists board the jet. "Hey Shu, an hour's flight right?" one journalist says to Shu. I hear him leave and then hear footsteps approach us. "Who's this?" Shu laughs. "Shh, don't wake her up. That's my girlfriend Liu Fang." I hear the men chuckle. Then they all settled down as the jet started to go down the runway. I lift my head a little and caught Shu's eye. "Sleep Abelle," he mouthed, and I did.